It was the late hours of the morning and the village fell into a very doubtful moment just after the joyful and bright moment they experienced in the morning.
"Darlin, please come back home safe," Roland's wife, Clarissa said to Roland with a sad expression on her face.
The baby in her hand let out a lovely chuckle as he stretched his tiny hands towards his father, signaling for him to pick him up, clearly unaware of the emotional moment going on between his parents.
Roland took his son from her hand and played with him a little before responding to Clarissa with a smile, "Lord Rowan is going to lead us to greatness, I believe it. And do not worry about me, I will be back very soon and when I do, our village will no longer be under those damn people and our son will be able to grow under the same peaceful atmosphere we grew with."
She sighed and prayed in her heart for his safe return and the victory of their village.
Roland continued to play with his son. He was still playing with him when two of his soldiers knocked on his door and called him out with panic in their voices.
Clarissa looked at her husband questioningly, "What is happening?" She asked as she took the baby from him.
"I don't know but do not panic, those bratty soldiers are always running and do not know how to call someone out peacefully." He smiled at her and rushed to meet the two soldiers outside.
Clarissa went outside with him.
When the two young soldiers saw her, they greeted her and she nodded.
Then both of them turned to Roland and said in hurried voices, "Sir, we need to go the south boundary immediately. You have to see what is happening!"
Their tone made Clarissa even more worried but she bade them farewell.
Roland grabbed his sword and ran with the soldiers towards the northern border.
"Tell me exactly what is happening," he requested as they ran.
"We don't know, the soldiers were gathered there but we heard that they have caught a traitor who has been leaking information to Glenwood," they replied immediately.
"A traitor in our midst?" Roland was confused, he has never for once in his life imagined that someone from the village would have the guts to betray them.
'Could it be him?' he wondered as he ran even faster. Leaving a big gap between the young soldiers who struggled to follow his pace.
As they ran towards the northern border, they met with Captain Josh and Bryce who were also running in that direction.
"You guys heard it as well," Josh asked Roland and Bryce as he ran beside them.
"Yeah! There is a fucking traitor in our midst, I heard. If it is true, I will kill that person myself!" Bryce let out anger in his voice.
Roland didn't reply and kept running ahead.
Soon they got to the northern border and saw that a large group of soldiers gathered.
Roland looked around looking for the other captains but he only spotted Bryce, Oliver was nowhere to be found.
'I hope it isn't him!' He thought in his heart as he ran towards the crowd.
"Clear the way," he demanded and the soldiers cleared way immediately.
The three captains ran through the path cleared for them and reached the front of the crowd but they were shocked with the scene unfolding.
Behold, Rowan could be seen standing beside two bloodied and almost unrecognizable figures on the ground. His eyes carried an intense anger they haven't seen before and his hands were stained with blood.
Amidst the noise generated by the young soldiers, the whining and flinching of the figures on the ground could be heard.
Roland's eyes widened as he observed the faces of the two people on the ground, "Oliver and young Judas?" He called out with shock.
While he reacted pretty calmly, Bryce didn't.
With a cold expression on his face, he turned and asked the young soldier beside him to confirm before taking action, "Why are they on the ground?"
"They are the bastards who have been giving information to Glenwood. They were caught by the brilliant plan set up by Lord Rowan and the white-haired handsome man. They..."
Bryce didn't even wait for the soldier to complete his statement before dashing towards Oliver.
"Oliver you bastard! How dare you!!" He thundered as he landed a punch on Oliver's face.
He didn't hold back after the first punch and continued raining down more hard punches on his face. Oliver let out loud cries of pain but no one stepped in to help. Due to the beating he had already received from Rowan, fighting back became impossible and he could only lay there and receive all the punches that rained down.
"That's it captain Bryce! Deal with that traitor!"
The young soldiers chanted with loud voices.
Roland watched as Oliver got beaten up without a single urge to help even though they had been friends since childhood. To him, whosoever put the life of the village at risk and betray them is no friend!
Rowan watched it all take place without making any moves - He is still contemplating about the details he received from D'andre before he left the village for the merchant tournament.
"Build your territory and your followers and get stronger as fast as you can Rowan. The date for the first tournament of Outworlders might arrive soon and death is not impossible," That was what D'andre said to him.
According to him, transmigrators are referred to as Outworlders by the system. He told him a lot of important details before teleporting out of the village. He left his carriage as a gift to Rowan for their new friendship.
As Rowan recalled those details, he made up his mind to do everything to make his territory progress. He returned his gaze to Oliver and anger blazed in his eyes.
Rowan opened his inventory and brought out the dagger he purchased from D'andre before he left. The dagger was flashy with a sleek black blade that gave it a menacing feel.
With the dagger in hand, he cleared his throat and the crowd became silent immediately.
"What I am about to do to these two today should serve as a lesson to those who ever thinks of betraying our trust and love," Rowan started as he walked towards the pummeled Oliver and Judus.
Bryce left Oliver and Judus and stood at the sideline, watching Rowan take action.
"Winterseed has been a calm and loving village since its creation and no one has ever thought of betraying their people! I will not let such stupidity start during my reign," He continued.
His words caused the soldiers to look at him with respect and fear as they could feel the deep fury brewing inside him, a sight contrasting his usual loving smile that adorns his face everyday.
Roland looked at him and tried to speak him out of killing them. Oliver was his childhood friend and while he hated him for committing such evil, he didn't have the heart to watch him die.
"Lord Rowan, Oliver has been a good villager since birth. We can't simply kill him, we should imprison him and make him pay for his crimes." He said.
"We do not have space to waste on them," Rowan replied in a chilly tone, "Those who dare to endanger my people will face immediate death."
Silence sprawled over the northern border following his chilly words, not even Roland tried to speak for Oliver and Judus again.
"Please.. Lord Rowan, spare me!" Oliver began pleading out as he saw that no one was trying to stop Rowan.
He became hopeful when Roland tried to plead with Rowan but his hope died quickly after Rowan's cold response.
As Rowan moved closer to him, Oliver felt as though death was stepping closer and he kept pleading frantically
"Please I didn't know what I was doing, Lord Rowan. Give me a second chance to prove myself!!"
"Roland, Bryce, Bruce, Josh! Help me!" He turned to his fellow captains and pleaded with tears dripping down his eyes.
But they all ignored him. Bruce, Bryce and Josh kept a cold look on their faces, only Roland showed a semblance of pity but he didn't try to help.
At such a crucial moment, with death only a minute away, Oliver couldn't help but reflect on all his carefully laid plans and schemes to seize control of the village. He had been so close—just a few steps away, just a few days from victory—and now, everything was slipping through his fingers, shattering right before his eyes.
'I can't let this happen! I've worked too hard for this!' he screamed internally, his desperation rising.
The hateful curses and mocking words of the young soldiers rang in his ears, fueling his growing rage. His anger flared, but his body was weak, beaten, and broken.
With one last, desperate effort, Oliver gathered every ounce of strength left in his vocal cords and screamed out a name, hoping against hope that it would save him.